Lake Nona has just announced a new partnership with the tech company Intersection, an organization that provides wifi, navigation information, and other technology to public spaces for the 3.8 million square foot Lake Nona Town Center.
This partnership will seek to “identify opportunities to integrate the physical world of brick and mortar with digital technology to reimagine the traditional retail, entertainment and hospitality experience for consumers and businesses alike.”
The two will maintain a 9-month long partnership to craft a plan that sews the Lake Nona Town Center together with new technology; including a retail experience that responds and caters to consumer preferences through work in parking, wayfinding, and operational efficiencies.
Intersection is backed by Google’s parent company Alphabet, through its urban technology company, Sidewalk Labs, which works to accelerate and guide the creation of smart cities. These will help in the creation and implementation of smart technology that grows and adapts with the public that uses it.
The Lake Nona Town Center itself will include include more than 80 specialty retailers, anchors, junior anchors, restaurants, entertainment tenants, office space, and 85,000 square-feet of medically integrated fitness facilities.
“As placemakers who strive to be innovative and collaborative in everything we do, the relationship with Intersection is a natural evolution to complement our built environment. What impressed me most was the brainpower and passion that Intersection possesses and, together, we accept the challenge of creating innovative, value-added solutions within the ever-changing landscape of retail,” said Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group. “We can’t wait to incorporate transformative digital strategies, as created by Intersection, at our 3.8 million-square-foot entertainment and shopping district.”
Intersection has already established a worldwide reputation by leading the deployment of LinkNYC, the largest and fastest free public Wi-Fi network in the world. The company has recently expanded the product into London with the launch of InLinkUK.
“Lake Nona has always been a place of innovation aimed to inspire the future of smart cities,” said Jim Zboril, President of Tavistock Development Company. “Intersection will enable Lake Nona to have access to cutting-edge technological thinking and strategic partnerships that will transform the ways in which the community engages in our Town Center and ultimately strengthen the connectivity of our community in a way that many smart cities aspire to, but few have achieved.”
